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California Air Resources Board News Clips for January 10, 2011.
California Air Resources Board News Clips for January 7, 2011.
This is a service of the California Air Resources Board’s Office
of Communications. You may need to sign in or register with
individual websites to view some of the following news articles.
AIR POLLUTION
Socal Air District Considers Emission Credits. The governing
board for Southern California's anti-smog agency is expected to
consider a plan that would allow companies to pollute by
purchasing emission credits. The Clean Air Act requires new
sources of air pollution to offset their emissions by reducing
emissions elsewhere in an effort to prevent overall air quality
from getting worse. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/01/07/financial/f095052S43.DTL#ixzz1AePSGZKX
Vote Delayed On Calif. Air Pollution Program. After more than two
hours of public comment, the governing board of Southern
California's anti-smog agency postponed voting Friday on a
controversial plan that would allow companies to pollute by
purchasing emission credits. The South Coast Air Quality
Management District board instead decided to vote on the issue at
its February meeting. The Clean Air Act allows for the creation
of a market where a company that reduces pollution can sell the
credits to other facilities that produce emissions. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-07/vote-delayed-on-calif-air-pollution-program.html
Slashing Pollution without Job Losses Is Aim of Shasta County
Officials. Recent laws aimed at curbing California’s greenhouse
gas emissions will kill jobs, critics say. But government
officials and industry leaders in Shasta County are working on a
plan to cut emissions while protecting jobs in forestry,
agriculture, mining, manufacturing, utilities, power generation
construction, transportation and other key sectors in the local
economy. Over time, efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions could
even create several- dozen jobs across the north state, planners
believe. Posted.
http://www.redding.com/news/2011/jan/08/slashing-pollution-without-job-losses/
CLIMATE CHANGE
Senate Dems Gear Up to Battle House GOP on EPA's Climate Regs.
House Republicans ready to unravel U.S. EPA's work on greenhouse
gas emissions are beginning to find a newly invigorated
opposition on the other side of the Capitol. Senate Environment
and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) yesterday
put the new House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman on
notice by name, vowing to "use every tool available to me" to
prevent a derailing of carbon emissions regulations by Rep. Fred
Upton (R-Mich.). Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/01/07/07greenwire-senate-dems-gear-up-to-battle-house-gop-on-epa-22835.html
Newly Empowered Republicans Float Bills to Block EPA's Air Regs.
Three days into the new Congress, rank-and-file Republicans in
the House are quickly making it clear that one of their main
priorities will be blocking new air regulations from U.S. EPA --
and not just the ones that are aimed at climate change. On the
climate side, with top-ranking Republicans promising to pass
legislation that would block agency actions they see as harmful
to the economy, there are already plenty of options on the table.
Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/01/07/07greenwire-newly-empowered-republicans-float-bills-to-blo-20939.html
Climate Change May Continue for at Least a Millennium. Climate
change may be unstoppable for the next millennium. Rising
carbon-dioxide levels in the atmosphere will affect the climate
for at least another 1,000 years, based on a simulation by
researchers at Canada’s University of Victoria and University of
Calgary. That will cause the West Antarctic ice sheet to collapse
by the year 3000 and raise sea levels by 4 meters (13 feet), it
showed. Posted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-10/climate-change-may-continue-for-a-millennium-researchers-say.html
Climate Change Reveals Disease As National Security Threat.
Washington — One of the most worrisome national security threats
of climate change is the spread of disease, among both people and
animals, U.S. intelligence and health officials say. But more
than a decade after such concerns were first raised by U.S.
intelligence agencies, significant gaps remain in the health
surveillance and response network — not just in developing
nations, but in the United States as well, according to those
officials and a review of federal documents and reports. Posted.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/10/v-print/106405/climate-change-reveals-disease.html
China Moves Toward Carbon Emissions Trading To Improve Energy
Efficiency And Competitiveness. Shanghai -- When Professor Chen
Hongbo tried to promote carbon trading in China three years ago,
he found himself under fire. As developing countries like China
aren't obliged to limit the byproduct of their economic growth,
opponents argued vehemently that they saw no need to motivate
Chinese industries to either emit less greenhouse gases or pay
for their emissions. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/10/1
Inertia Makes CO2 Emissions A 1,000-Year Problem – Report.
Climate change will persist -- and in some parts of the world,
intensify -- for 1,000 years or more after the world stops
burning fossil fuels, according to research published online
yesterday by the journal Nature Geoscience. Other studies,
including a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences,
have reached a similar conclusion: that climate change is
essentially irreversible from the standpoint of a human lifetime.
Much of the inertia built into Earth's climate comes from its
seas. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/10/4
Climate Change may Ruin Sierras and Delta. Say your goodbyes to
the Sierras, the California Delta, and the state of Hawaii now,
because they might not be around for much longer. A new study by
the Endangered Species Coalition says that many American
landmarks face destruction due to climate change, according to
the Gate. Some places will get warmer, others colder; some dryer,
some wetter. New species will invade and others will vanish,
rendering the landscape unrecognizable. Posted.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/green/Climate-Chance-may-Ruin-Sierras-and-Delta-113089779.html
Republicans Launch Swift Attack on Obama's Climate Change Agenda.
As widely anticipated, Republicans in the House of
Representatives have wasted no time with their efforts to neuter
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using the first two
days of legislative business to introduce several bills that
would strip the watchdog of its right to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions. Posted.
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1935500/republicans-launch-swift-attack-obamas-climate-change-agenda
DIESEL
Diesel Truck Owners Offered One-Day Briefing on New Rules. With
new air quality regulations in the wind, state and local
government agencies will be holding a one-day diesel
"truckapalloza" for the local trucking industry on Jan. 22 at the
Caltrans offices in Old Town. All diesel-fueled trucks, buses,
trailers and refrigeration units operating in California,
including those based out of state, are being required to take
steps to reduce air pollution. Posted.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jan/07/diesel-truck-owners-offered-one-day-briefing-new-r/
Garden Grove Schools Get 13 Clean-Air Buses. The Garden Grove
Unified School District received a $195,000 grant from the South
Coast Air Quality Management District that will allow officials
to buy 13 additional environmentally-friendly school buses
powered by compressed natural gas, district officials announced
Friday. The latest AQMD award brings the total amount of grants
the school district has received for these lower-emission buses
to $2.2 million, according to a statement, which also says that
the district will provide $15,000 per bus in matching funds for a
total contribution of $195,000. Posted.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/buses-283203-district-school.html
GREEN ENERGY
Urban Communities Aid Green Issues. We know there will be
something important on the ballot related to the environment. We
want to get people to vote who are the most impacted and haven't
voted historically," said Ian Kim, campaign manager for
Communities United against Proposition 23, now Communities United
for Clean Energy and Jobs. Kim and his cohorts are still riding
high from the successful campaign to stop Proposition 23, which
would have suspended California's Global Warming Solutions Act.
Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/08/INF81H3LSV.DTL#ixzz1AeUavdPW
'Greener' Weapons Station Development. A climate action plan for
the former Concord Naval Weapons Station shows how a mix of
zoning rules, building regulations and transportation policies
should significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions created by
development there. The city released the plan this week, laying
out the nuts and bolts of how development at the base can be
accomplished cutting per-capita emissions 40 percent by 2030 from
what they would be without the "green" rules. Posted.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/growth/ci_17038514?nclick_check=1
DOE Starts At The Top In Bid To Cut Emissions, Set Good Example.
To gain access to the latest energy advancement at the Department
of Energy's headquarters complex in Washington, D.C., you must
travel a maze of hallways and find the door marked with the
cryptic code "1E029." Once through the door, you start a
dizzying, claustrophobic climb up a metal spiral staircase. You
pass what might or might not be a working security camera lying
on the concrete floor and reach an imposing metal door. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/01/10/6
Why Electric Vehicles Will Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. A
recent article by John Peterson argued that electric vehicles
will take us backward in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and that today's hybrid cars are more effective in
reducing GHGs. Peterson's commentary rests on recent research by
Carnegie Mellon University regarding life-cycle emissions of
various vehicle types. Posted.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/01/why-electric-vehicles-will-significantly-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions
VEHICLES
Toyota Maintains That Hybrids Are Better Than Evs. More than 10
years after the release of the Prius, Toyota pushes to maintain
its lead in environmental automobile technology, a role that is
growing more competitive with the recent resurgence in electric
vehicles (EVs). Both GM and Nissan released EVs last month, the
Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf, respectively. Ford plans to
release an all-electric version of its popular Focus model later
this year. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/print/2011/01/10/11
Argonne Technology Could Double Range For Electric Cars. A small
piece of a battery developed at Argonne National Laboratory may
end up being the turning point in the technology of electric
cars, doubling their range while reducing their weight and
extending their lives. The composite cathode material Argonne
scientists have been revising since 2001 uses a combination of
cheaper and lighter materials that allow the batteries to be
charged at a higher voltage. That can increase energy storage by
as much as 100 percent over the current conventional cathode
material. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/01/10/18
MISCELLANEOUS
Health Concerns Gain Traction In Calif. The newest opposition to
"smart" electric meters is gaining traction -- even if its
validity is questionable. Amid claims of malfunctioning meters,
privacy issues and dubious economic value, health issues stemming
from electromagnetic waves are the latest objection that smart
meter opponents have seized upon to block California's
multibillion-dollar rollout. Northern California residents and
lawmakers have been sounding the alarm for the past year, saying
that the meters, when layered on top of microwaves, cell phones,
wireless routers and other emitters, are the final straw. Posted.
http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/print/2011/01/10/3
OPINION
At Least Some Politicians Get It. Advocates of federal action to
address climate change had little to cheer about in 2010. The
prospects may be even grimmer this year, with nearly every
important committee chair in the now Republican-controlled House
dismissing the threat of global warming or the human contribution
to it. As Congress dawdles and denies, some states are moving
forward. Massachusetts recently announced a plan to curb
emissions from homes, cars and factories by one-fourth below 1990
levels over 10 years … Posted.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/opinion/10mon3.html
A `Truth Rule' For State Air Board? As California's smog-fighting
Air Resources Board gets set to impose America's first
cap-and-trade rules for fighting the greenhouse gases most
scientists believe are helping cause global warming and climate
change, it is also considering imposing a "truth" rule on
everyone who testifies in its hearings or submits reports to it.
For some, that appears a bit ironic right now, as the board has
just scaled back diesel particulate pollution regulations that
were based on a report whose lead author turned out to have
falsified his academic credentials. Posted.
http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_17045614
BLOGS
Attacking the EPA: Scary Myths and Scarier Realities. Only a
couple of days into the new Congress, Representative Mary
Blackburn and at least 46 colleagues have proposed an
air-pollution solution that's both simple and ingenious: Pass a
law declaring that pollutants aren't pollutants. Blackburn's
bill, H.R. 97, states: "The term 'air pollutant' shall not
include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide,
hydrofluorocarb ons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride."
If only it were that simple. Posted.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mbrune/detail?entry_id=80587#ixzz1AePzGB8c